High performance solid propellant fueled rocket motors require burning rate catalysts to achieve fast burn rates. Presently, n-hexylcarborane (NHC) is considered to be one of the most suitable burning rate catalysts for solid propellant fuels. NHC production by one process involves reacting 1-octyne with decaborane-14. The price and quantity limiting factor in the supply of NHC is the lack of an industrial process for synthesizing large quantities of decaborane inexpensively.
The carborane compounds are good reducing agents and when boron is oxidized, a significant amount of heat is released. This property has attributed to the efficiency of the carboranes as burning rate catalysts. Since the cost per pound of NHC is high, the cost for the increase in burning rate achieved is high. However, the high price has resulted in stimulating interest in seeking methods to produce NHC for a cheaper price or to investigate other compounds as catalysts to achieve the desired burning rates at a cheaper price, but without sacrificing propellant properties.
An object of this invention is to provide ballistic modifiers in combination with compatible propellant ingredients to yield an increase in the propellant composition burning rate.
A further object of this invention is to provide a propellant composition having an improved burning rate at high pressures resulting from employing a burning rate catalyst selected from silicon compounds having a bond selected from a silicon to hydrogen bond, a silicon to nitrogen bond, and a silicon to carbon bond.